


you and i fighting for the art of war

by WinterSabbath



Series: Frostiron Bingo 2019 [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Accident Prone, Asgardian Tony Stark, BAMF Loki (Marvel), Clumsiness, Clumsy Tony Stark, Daggers, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Military Training, Pining, Prince Loki (Marvel), Sassy Tony Stark, but the medieval type
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-10 11:47:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20134954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterSabbath/pseuds/WinterSabbath
Summary: Loki trains the new recruits for Asgard's army and meets Anthony Howardson, the clumsiest person Loki has ever seen and who was better off doing anything else but fighting.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is a bingo fic but i'll be participating in the secret challenge so there will be three connecting chapters and each chapter has a different prompt provided. this chapter based off the prompt from square O5: Accident Prone.

Loki was here because of Thor. And his mother.

He was somehow convinced by the both of them to teach a bunch of new recruits to the army. He was hesitant at first, he still was, because there was no reason for him to be teaching a bunch of younglings and inexperienced buffoons. And yet, his mom had insisted, and so had his brother.

“It will be for the greater good of Asgard!” Thor had yelled in his face, waving Mjölnir around, “You are great with daggers and there is no one better to teach them how to wield it than you!”

“I am busy,” Loki muttered. Not really, though. He just spent his days reading and studying.

But his mother had urged him, saying, “It may be worth a try, Loki. These new recruits are eager and it would do them good if they are able to learn from someone of your expertise. If you do not end up liking it, you can stop after a few sessions.”

Loki narrowed his eyes. “Fine. One week.”

So here Loki was, standing on a field, in front of new wide-eyed recruits that barely knew how to grip a sword. He sighed in front of them, flipping the dagger in his hand and pacing around.

“You are all here by _choice_. You signed up, you enlisted and you _passed_ so now you are all here. That means, I expect to hear no complaints from _any _of you unless you wish to be taken off the army. I will be training you for the next week and will be focusing on the techniques in aiming, mostly using a dagger. I will overwork you, I will push you to your limits, but it is all so you can improve. Let me make this clear, I do not _care_ if you are tired, I do not _care _if you feel like passing out. You will accomplish every task I give you without complaint. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” answered the chorus of voices.

He then spun around and threw his blade towards a tree trunk and let it whiz past a row of soldiers before it embedded itself on the trunk. The soldiers had flinched as it nearly grazed their ears but Loki has been using daggers since he was a child. He no longer made mistakes.

“First task, I would like to assess your skills. Take my dagger and throw it at the exact same area.” He raised an eyebrow when nobody moved to do anything and snapped, “_Well?_”

That got them scrambling towards his blade and lining up to throw his dagger one by one. Some of them were quite close but none were really _exceptional_. Loki could easily point out the flaws in their stance and technique.

And then another recruit stumbled forward, his helmet almost too big for his face. He grabbed the dagger from the tree and stood a few feet away to throw it but before he could even stand back enough, he tripped over a rock and fell face first to the ground.

Loki raised an eyebrow and slowly walked over to the fallen recruit. “Your name?”

“Howardson,” he spat, getting up and frowning mostly to himself, “Anthony Howardson, my Prince.”

Loki frowned at the helmet and reached out his hand to take the helmet off the recruit. “You should get a new helmet, this is ill-suited for you.”

“I told them I have my own but they refused to allow me to use anything but what they provide,” Howardson huffed.

“I will talk to Tyr about that,” Loki hummed and took a step back, “Go on and throw, Howardson.

The aim was decent and they soon moved on to the next recruit. Loki still had Howardson’s helmet tucked under his arm as they finished through the line.

Then, he gave them two more tasks, observing each and every one of them. His eyes constantly strayed to Howardson, though, and he noticed two things.

First, it did not seem like he wanted to be here.

Second, he was going to get himself killed at war.

Howardson stumbled about. His weapon of choice was also a dagger and he constantly dropped it for no reason. No one was hitting him. It was his own clumsiness that caused it. And then he almost got himself hit by a tree branch on multiple occasions. He was clumsier than the average Aesir and even more than the average warrior.

When Howardson dropped his dagger on his foot while they were taking a break, he howled in pain and Loki appeared right next to him.

“You need a lot of work,” Loki muttered, kneeling down in front of him and taking the dagger out. Howardson’s foot was obviously injured but it wasn’t anything so bad. Loki could easily fix it with his magic.

“Norns, that’s painful,” Howardson whimpered as Loki sealed the wound.

Loki furrowed his eyebrows and looked up. “It should no longer hurt. If the pain persists, I should take you to the infirmary.”

Howardson bit his lip, wiggling his foot around before smiling weakly. “It’s... it’s alright now. Thank you.”

That was when Loki registered the sudden silence of those around him. He turned to face them and saw that they were staring at him, mouths open. It was then he realized that he was _kneeling _in front of Howardson. A _prince_ was kneeling in front of a _peasant_. An unusual sight indeed.

Despite its rarity, Loki just glared at them. “Mind your own business,” he hissed, standing up to level Anthony with a stern look. “And _you_, you’re going to get yourself killed in battle.”

“I know I’m not that good but—”

“_Not_ because someone else will kill you, but because you will kill yourself,” Loki said, folding his arms, “You are far too prone to accidents for your own good."

“I’m clumsy, yeah, but I’m trying, okay?”

“I do not wish for you to _try_, I wish for results. I care not for your efforts if they do not yield acceptable outcomes.”

Then he turned around to walk away.

“_Helvíti þér,_” Loki heard Anthony mutter behind him. In a few seconds, he had Anthony pushed to the ground with a dagger to his neck. Everyone was definitely looking now.

“Would you like to repeat that for me once again?” Loki murmured, pressing the blade closer to Anthony.

“I said,” Anthony choked out, “_Helvíti þér_, my Prince.”

“You really do have a death wish, yes?” Loki said, “Do you know the consequences of disrespecting a royal?” he didn’t wait for an answer as he continued, “They get sent to the _dungeons_. But I shall be lenient with you today. Stay after the training and I will make sure you are penalized.”

Anthony was beginning to turn red from the choking and Loki took pity on him. He stood up and let Anthony go, watching him recover.

Loki turned around but not without telling him, “I would have thought your clumsiness would get you killed, but perhaps your mouth is an even bigger enemy.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> square o4, prompt: tangle

When training was over and most of the recruits were too tired to even stand, Loki waited for all of them to leave until Anthony Howardson was the last Aesir in the field. The sky was already beginning to darken but Loki didn’t really think it was too late to do some sparring.

“Take a sword,” Loki instructed Anthony once they were alone.

“Come _on_, are you not tired?” Anthony panted, his hands on his knees, “I certainly am!”

“One round and then we may cease,” Loki ordered, so used to everyone bowing to his whim.

Anthony, though, shook his head furiously, plopping down on the ground with his arms folded. “No,” he said defiantly, chin raised despite his tiredness.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“You heard me.

“How old are you? You are acting like a child.”

Anthony glared at him. “For your information, I am a thousand and fifteen years old."

“You do not act like it.”

“Oh, so I should be obeying everything you say then? Will that be the time you’ll consider me _acting like an adult_?” 

This was the first time Loki had ever experienced anyone outside his family talking to him in such a casual and... disrespectful manner. Although... he did not feel as disrespected as he probably should be. A part of him was thinking perhaps Anthony could be a friend.

Nevertheless, there was also Loki’s ego that needed tending to. Anthony had, after all, cursed at him in front of all the other recruits and if Loki didn’t do anything about that then what would his image be to others? _Kind? Soft?_

“Have it your way, then,” Loki said, walking over to Anthony and taking his hand. Anthony looked up at him in confusion and they disappeared from the field, reappearing in the middle of Loki’s room. Anthony looked around, spotted the bed and his eyes widened.

“I am _not_ joining you in bed for any reason at all, I am not a slave, I—”

“Will you relax? I do not wish to bed the likes of you,” Loki said in irritation. He produced a knotted piece of yarn and led Anthony over to a chair. But before he could explain what he expected Anthony to do, the other was already rambling in front of him.

“What do you mean _the likes of me? _I will have you know, many want a piece of me, so do not assume that I—”

Loki rolled his eyes and shoved the yarn in his hands. “Enough. I want you to untie this. Once it is untied, I will forgive you.”

Anthony was giving him a disbelieving look, mouth slightly parted. “You do realize this is a piece of string?”

“Yes.”

“What does this have to do with anything?” 

“Nobody has ever been able to untie this. If it takes you more than three hours, I will have to send you to the dungeons and tell the Allfather of your actions today. In the meanwhile, I think it will teach you a good lesson in humility.”

To Loki’s confusion, Anthony had a smile on his face as soon as he looked at the tangled yarn. He grinned. “This should be easy.”

“That is what everyone says.”

“Yes, but you haven’t met me,” he insisted, “All you know about me is I’m clumsy _but _you haven’t seen what I can do with my hands yet.”

Loki snorted, sitting down on a chair opposite him. “Alright, Anthony, I do hope you impress me. At this rate, it would be quite a shame to throw such a personality to the dungeons.”

“Aww, you think I’m quite a personality? You flatterer.” Anthony stuck his tongue out and proceeded to examine the yarn. Loki had no idea what was going on through the man’s mind but a part of him was hoping that he would actually figure it out. He wouldn’t want to throw Anthony into the dungeons.

Although, with how casual Anthony was addressing him, Loki _had _to ask, “Why do you not treat me like a prince?”

Anthony shrugged. “Do you want me to? I kind of figured... I don’t know, if it were me, I’d hate it if people kept calling me anything but my name. Though, if you still want me to keep calling you my prince, I don’t mind. I don’t really care."

Loki frowned and thought about it for a moment before saying, “Well... I am simply not used to it but... I suppose Loki is fine.”

“Can I call you LoLo?”

Loki glared at him. “Absolutely not.”

“Okay, LoLo,” Anthony snickered. He moved out of the way as Loki reached over to hit him upside the head. “Fine, fine, what about Lokes?”

“I will call you Thony,” Loki huffed, leaning back.

“_Thony?_” Anthony wrinkled his nose, “Anthony is fine, please.”

“I am Loki, then.”

“Alright, alright, now leave me alone. I’m getting close."

Loki looked over at the string and was beginning to doubt Anthony’s convicting statements earlier. It seemed even more tangled than it had been earlier. How Anthony defined that as _getting close_, Loki did not know.

“You see this tangled string?” Anthony grinned triumphantly, raising it up. He lifted his other hand and pulled on the other end and it slowly unraveled. “It’s not tangled anymore! Yes! I was _not _certain that would work.”

Loki gaped at him as Anthony handed him the untangled piece of string. It was completely smooth, not a single knot left. “How did you—”

“I’m good with my hands, okay?” Anthony paused, then added, “That came out wrong. I just... I like building, I like tinkering. My talents were never really in fighting.”

Loki frowned. “Why did you join the army then?”

“_Because_ my father forced me to,” Anthony said.

“Ah.” Loki nodded. “I understand that sentiment. My own father also does push me to do things I do not want.”

“I imagine being a royal is so much more complicated. Honestly, I’m not jealous of you. I pity you and Thor, you know? You don’t get to live life much. Not that I do, especially with my father breathing down my neck, but at least I have _some _free will of my own.”

“A lot of Aesir will argue that Thor and I are certainly something to be envious of. Thor, especially,” Loki chuckled softly, although he did agree with Anthony.

Anthony sighed. “Have you not learned anything since meeting me, Lokes? I’m not exactly _most _Aesir material.”

“Yes, I had that figured out when you tripped over a small rock.”

“Hey!” Anthony whined.

Loki laughed and Anthony began to complain endlessly. For the first time in centuries, Loki was genuinely smiling and it was the most light-hearted he has felt in a while.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> square G5: prompt: magic.

Anthony had spent the entire night in Loki’s chambers by complete accident. They were in the middle of a little banter (it was borderline flirting but Loki wasn’t going to admit that), and somehow they had ended up in Loki’s bed and _then_ they ended up falling asleep next to each other.

So when Loki woke up with his arms wrapped around someone, he _really_ shouldn’t have been surprised. Except he was, and he yelled, which in turn startled Anthony awake.

And when Anthony woke, Loki still had his arms wrapped around him.

“Oh,” Anthony said after he realized they weren’t in danger. He looked down at Loki’s arm and Loki immediately retracted it, embarrassed.

Loki felt heat rise to his cheeks. “Apologies.”

“Happens to the best of us,” Anthony whispered without much conviction. He turned around to face Loki. “So... it would be for the best if we get ready, huh? I—we, we still have training.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Training.”

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

“N0,” Loki said. Was he flustered? Norns...

“What do you think of the army so far? Excluding me, of course. I know I’m pretty hopeless,” Anthony chuckled. That was one of the things they had agreed on yesterday, Anthony was hopeless when it came to physical fighting.

Loki sat up, deliberately avoiding looking at his... friend? _Were _they friends? “They are trying their best.”

“That’s a nice of way of saying they’re terrible.”

“Perhaps they are better trained with swords. Knives and daggers? Not so much. Endurance would also need work.”

“To be fair, we were training nonstop since dawn yesterday.” Instead of getting up, Anthony tugged the comforters higher up his body until only his eyes were poking out. Loki smiled at the sight and then looked away once again.

“_To be fair_,” Loki imitated, “War will not give you time to rest.”

“Point,” Anthony hummed.

Loki threw him a pillow. “You must rise. We will be late.”

“Ooh, are we going there together? What would the people think, my Prince?”

“You are giving me a headache, Howardson.”

Loki could not see him, but he knew Anthony was pouting behind the comforters. “Back to Howardson already? We’re not even in the field yet.”

“We will never be if you do not get off the bed.”

“Ooh, what a sharp tongue you have,” Anthony snickered. Loki glared at him and he finally relented, shoving the sheets away and standing, “Alright, alright, let’s go.”

They never address the fact that they shared a bed. As Loki watched Anthony brush a hand through his hair, he decided he didn’t want to make things awkward with the first friend he had.

So he did not bring it up.

\--- --- ---

The idea came about when Loki had use his seidr to stop a dagger mid-air from skewing through Anthony. When their training finished, he asked Anthony to remain once again and this time they were not as hostile as they was the previous night.

“I wish to teach you seidr,” Loki said when Anthony sat on the ground, leaning on a pole.

Anthony looked up at him, expression half confused and half annoyed. “What are you talking about?" 

Loki folded his arms, adamant his decision was right. “I shall teach you seidr. I will not allow you to go into war with your skills so... _self-destructive._”

After a moment of silence, Anthony huffed, closing his eyes. “You aren’t even allowed to ban me from battle. You’re just here as a temporary trainer, you’re not the general.”

“Anthony, I am a prince. Do you think your general will refuse me?”

“You know the only people who know how to use magic in this realm are you, the Queen, and the Allfather, right?” he paused, peeked at Loki, and then added, “And maybe Thor knows a little but I have never seen him use it.” Anthony stood up and crossed his arms, imitating Loki’s stance. “Point _is_, seidr is meant to be used by the royal family.”

“That is not law.” Loki rolled his eyes in a very _un_-royal manner. “It is merely because you have no one to teach it to you. Which shall no longer serve as a problem because now you have me.”

Anthony raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so desperate to teach me?”

“I am not desperate. I merely do not wish to see you die in battle so soon."

“Then why not take me off the army?”

Loki didn’t know. “Do you want me to teach you or not?” he snapped.

“Calm down.” Anthony’s lips broke into a smile. “I’d love to learn how to use magic.”

Loki nodded stiffly and took a step forward to grab Anthony by the wrist and they reappeared in a clearing surrounded by trees. It was Loki’s favorite place to practice seidr if he could not do so in his chambers. He let Anthony regain balance before he spoke. “The foundation of seidr is Yggdrasil. This is where a mage’s energy is drawn from. We do not _create _this energy, we merely bend it to our will." 

“Energy can’t be created nor destroyed,” Anthony nodded, “I read that in a book somewhere.”

“Precisely. So the first thing you must know is how to bend seidr to your will and the easiest way is if the seidr is already being used by someone else because you will not have to channel as much energy from Yggdrasil. The most basic manifestation of seidr is to block magic attacks from another mage because you will simply bend _my _magic to your will.” Loki conjured a snowball and threw it towards Anthony.

Anthony raised his arms and yelled as the snowball hit him in the face. “That wasn’t fair! I wasn’t ready and I don’t even know what I should do!" 

“Feel the energy of Yggdrasil and instruct it to bend to your will,” Loki told him.

Twenty snowballs and several instructions later, Anthony was able to block the next snowball and it hit the ground instead of his face. He was glaring at Loki, though, his hair covered in white fluffs. “Once I learn how to make snowballs, I’m coming for you.”

Loki chuckled, “Threaten me when you are able to do it.”

Anthony shrieked when a ball of fire was thrown towards him. When it didn’t stop, Loki was about to extinguish it himself but Anthony raised his hand and the ball of fire stopped mid-air. His face was scrunched in concentration and he clenched his jaw. “A little help?”

Loki didn’t help, though. He watched his companion strain to keep the ball of fire in the air. “Can you extinguish it?”

“If I could do you think it would still be there?” Anthony almost yelled at him.

With a small chuckle, Loki snuff out the fire and Anthony dropped his hands in exhaustion. Loki smiled at him. “That was well done.”

“That felt like I was running from dusk ‘till dawn!” whined Anthony, “If I block a sword, I’ll collapse from exhaustion. What is the point?”

“It will come more naturally with practice,” Loki assured him, “Perhaps we should save the rest for tomorrow?"

“_Great_ idea,” Anthony nodded furiously, “Let’s... let’s head back, we can do this tomorrow.”

“Come on then,” Loki tilted his head towards a small pathway.

Anthony frowned at it. “Can’t you use your magic to take us back?”

Loki shrugged. “I can but I assure you, in the state you’re in, you will feel more than a little bit disoriented. A short walk will do you good.”

“This better be short,” Anthony muttered as he stomped over to Loki. In his fury and weariness (and overall clumsiness), he stumbled over a rock and instinctively latched onto Loki’s vest for support. That caused the both of them to fall over, with Loki laying on top of Anthony, both of their eyes wide in surprise.

“Well—” Anthony began.

Loki cleared his throat and started to rise. Then he heard Anthony curse under his breath before pulling the prince back down and placing his lips on Loki’s. Loki gave a muffled sound of surprise as Anthony kissed him fiercely.

It did not last long, though. Anthony pulled back with a frown and cursed. “Apologies. I thought that you also... did I misread the signs? _Were _there any signs or was I looking into it too much—”

Loki was gaping at him and only snapped out of it when the rambling began. He realized now why Anthony was so upset. He had not kissed back due to his surprise and in turn, Anthony took it as rejection.

It was when Anthony was squirming underneath him to get away, Loki finally said something. “No!” he hissed, “I apologize. I did not mean to reject you.”

Anthony frowned. “Did not _mean _to?"

“I was in shock, it does not mean I do not share the same sentiments,” Loki said. He leaned forward and placed a peck on Anthony’s lips. “I am no fool, I have not known you long enough to trust you with my life, but I do appreciate our time spent together and I will allow a courtship between us if you wish it too.”

After a moment of silence, Anthony smiled. “I would _love _to.”

\--- --- --- 

When the battle was over, Loki’s eyes quickly searched for that of his lover, wading through the battlefield with only one person in mind: _his Anthony_.

The field was a bloodstained mess and although majority of the Aesir had survived, Loki could not help but be worried with each moment that passed that he could not find his beloved. His eyes darted around frantically, hoping for any sign.

Then he felt something cold hit the back of his neck and slide down. He touched it with his hand, looked at it and realized it was snow. Turning around, Loki saw Anthony standing across him with a smile on his face and another snowball in his hand. “Guess what I can do now?”

Filled with both pride and relief, Loki ran over to him and lifted him up, pulling him into a hug. “I was terrified for you. Why did you leave my sight?”

“C’mon, Lokes, I have the best teacher in the realms, I can handle myself,” Anthony murmured, hugging Loki back and burrowing his face in the crook of Loki’s neck, “I’m glad you’re safe too. Can’t say I was _that _worried, though. I knew you could destroy them.”

“We should get you to the palace and have you checked,” Loki insisted. He set Anthony back on the ground and ran his hands around his lover, making sure he did not have major injuries. “You have several cuts."

“Nothing too bad, though. I think half of those were from myself. The infirmary can wait. I really want to spend time with you so—”

Loki glared at him. “You will go to the infirmary first.”

“But—”

“Anthony, please.”

Anthony looked him in the eye and then all his defiance faltered. He sighed.

“Alright, alright. Anything for you, Lokes.”


End file.
